The story is that massed automatic fire from infantry armed with these things inspired the Germans to adopt an intermediate range version quick, to use on the Eastern Front.
(This is a great site for firearm pix you'll never see elsewhere.)
Posted on 09/29/2009 10:25:23 AM PDT by Schnucki
It produces the most popular automatic rifles in the world but the company that makes the Kalashnikov, or AK-47, is in trouble. It has had to deal with a slump in arms exports and competition from the makers of copycat versions around the world. Now a shady businessman has filed bankruptcy proceedings against the company.
Even in his old age, Mikhail Kalashnikov still worries about the invention that defined his life. At a conference on the 60th anniversary of the weapon that he invented in 1947 -- the Avtomatni Kalashnikova (Automatic of Kalashnikov) or AK-47 -- the elderly weapons designer, who is still chief designer for the state controlled company that makes the guns, lamented that, "there are counterfeits all around the world now which are plainly not of the same quality as the Russian example."
The legendary Kalashnikov is a Russian export success story. The guns are used by 60 armies worldwide, account for up to 80 percent of all assault rifles and are known as the weapon of choice for terrorist groups and rebel movements. But the Izhmash Arms factory in the central Russian city of Izhevsk, where Kalashnikovs are manufactured, has long been concerned about forgeries.
According to Izhmash Arms' parent company, the Rosoboronexport State Corporation -- which has a monopoly on supplying Russian arms to the international market -- there are about eight countries in which dozens of business are making their own versions of the Kalashnikov. And they are doing this without passing on any licensing fees to the Russians.
And now it appears that the financial difficulties facing the weapons manufacturer have reached crisis point: its very existence is threatened. A businessman in Izhevsk has filed a motion to declare Izhmash Arms bankrupt because of outstanding debts of around 8 million rubles (around €180,000
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
The story is that massed automatic fire from infantry armed with these things inspired the Germans to adopt an intermediate range version quick, to use on the Eastern Front.
(This is a great site for firearm pix you'll never see elsewhere.)
It is a Saiga .223...
You can get a Saiga 7.62*39 for $349 delivered...
Don't buy from Arsenal in Nevada and it will not cost you $800+
I believe it was the Finns during the Winter War of 1939-1940 whose effective use of the Suomi M/31 caused the Soviets to redesign their limited issue Degtyarov PPD-34/38 submachine guns (basically a copy of the Suomi M/31) into what became the PPD-40 which was quickly replaced by the PPsh-41. 
Notice the basic evolutionary line from the Finnish Suomi M/31 above and the Soviet PPD-34/38 second from top, the Soviet PPD-40 third from top and the Soviet PPSh-41 below:
I assume you converted it (which, of course, would add to the cost) - but if you purchased it as pictured, you got a heck of a deal!
I can definitely recommend the .223 Saigas, either way. I've built several 7.62 AKs from parts kits, and I definitely prefer converting Saigas. Nothing beats a Russian bolt/bolt carrier, in a Russian receiver, with a Russian barrel, etc., etc., etc...
;>)
Yes, I bought the remaining parts piece by piece when they were on sale.
Butt stock was ~ $40
FCG was ~ $15
PG was ~$20
Front retainer was ~ $12, it is a modified Yugo retainer.
E.German Gas tube was ~ $12
Forearm grip was ~ $15
Galil magazine was ~ $12
I buy a lot of things for ~ $12 LOL
~$12 is a great price for a lot of things!
;>)
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